


Reaction Formation

by Half_PintGladiator



Category: Portal (Video Game)
Genre: Denial, F/F, Humor, One Shot, Sarcasm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-06
Updated: 2017-01-06
Packaged: 2018-09-15 07:56:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9225737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Half_PintGladiator/pseuds/Half_PintGladiator
Summary: Reaction formation:  a kind of psychological defense mechanism in which a person perceives their true feelings or desires to be socially unacceptable, and so they attempt to convince themselves or others that the opposite is true--often in a very exaggerated performance.In other words: GLaDOS realizes she doesn't hate Chell and just can't cope.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I found this in my archive of yet to be posted fics. I feel it is time to liberate it from the testing chambers, if you will.

Her chassis was a gleaming pillar in the depths of Aperture, yet a symbol of corruption among the other AI. Her only love was science, cold, hard, logical science. Testing that could, and more often than not bring an end to her test subjects. Two had escaped GLaDOS' wrath-- however, one died at the bullets of one of her turrets, pathetic. The other... Murdered the almighty ruler of Aperture Science. She even had the gall to awaken the sleeping giant from her deathly slumber. Yet, that monster had saved her at one point. Though that was through an incredibly convoluted path that had her temporarily dethroned. Her worst enemy had returned her to power.

At first, kicking out Chell felt like an incredible epiphany- a stroke of genius by an already brilliant AI (as she saw herself). Orange and Blue tested well until the itch for carnage arose. The next step involved stored humans. Who, unfortunately expired -- too weak for her brand of science. Useless killing machines. There were even birds, though they also went, though this time, flying from the nest. GLaDOS did not know the meaning of loneliness-- only the sting of punishment, the blackness of death, and the blissful tingle of euphoria, yet... She missed Chell. Of course, she never referred to the human's name; instead she used subtle clues as to whom she was speaking of. To Orange and Blue (she was well aware of their names, but refused to call them such) the massive construct painted [redacted] as a sociopathic beast-- a hater of science, a destroyer of tests, the nightmarish hell-fiend that murdered Aperture's goddess. Yet when she was alone in her vast, empty chamber, the construct referred to [insert test subject name here] as cara mia; her best and only friend. 

Perhaps the crushing loneliness of Aperture's expansive facilities drover her to action-- or perhaps it was the need for a more... durable test subject. One never knew with GLaDOS. It had been one whole year since Wheatley's... disappearance. Chell had all of a year to travel. Without adrenal vapors and with the change of the seasons, the human could not venture far. Michigan may have been a large state, but the combines had ravaged all that could be found. No doubt the humans all had fled or died in the ensuing battle. Even if society had restored itself or existed, Chell would be an outsider. A mute in an orange jumpsuit couldn't blend in very well; particularly not one that was a dangerous lunatic. The AI refused to leave out that description of her former test subject-- it kept up her cover with Orange and Blue if anything. Not that _those_ morons would understand.

Aperture's so-called goddess tapped into a connection and found the internet was still down; humans would not have let the 'net go down-- they loved it too much. Humans and their inane fascinations. Another scan of her systems drew up a faint signal attached to a map of coordinates. So she bugged the cube, no matter. The lunatic loved that stupid thing, so why not place a tracker on it? For the eternal life of her, the supercomputer could not understand why Chell loved that cube. It couldn't even talk to her! At least she could talk. Another ping brought her inner rant to a halt. Orange and Blue could easily retrieve her; the lunatic hadn't traveled all that far after all. 

"Typical for a lunatic. Maybe she wanted to be close so she could _kill_ me again. Orange, Blue, I want you to get her before she returns to destroy science. Bring her to me and I will take care of this dangerous, mute lunatic once and for all." 

Her autotuned words took on an acidic quality as she gave orders to the testing 'bots-- both of which exchanged worried looks. Apparently they were cowards as well as poor test subjects. That was going on their files. Actually, the whole fiasco from earlier gesturing was going on their files as well. Atlas and P-body stepped into the lift, regarding their superior with what she was sure was loathing. In actuality, they were frightened out of their processors of capturing the monster-- even though they had both witnessed GLaDOS throwing Chell out of Aperture. But then again, GLaDOS had exploded them and wiped their RAM shortly after...

"Do not hurt her-- or I'll explode you. Oh, don't forget that the reassembly machine was broken. By your failure on your last test."

Orange and Blue hung their head units to the best of their ability, but it wasn't a pretty sight. Momentarily, GLaDOS wondered why she gave them arms instead of heads. It was a fleeting thought, dedicated to the back burner as she loaded Chell's file. Pictures lit up the panels of the chamber's walls. Each depicted a brunette in a hideous orange jumpsuit-- destroying tests. Amidst the blatant destruction there were images of a very determined woman testing, carrying potato GLaDOS (a memory she desperately tried to delete), facing down Wheatley, and a single image of her silhouetted against a bright blue sky and wheat fields-- immediately before the companion cube was deposited outside of the shed for her. Her nemesis, her friend, would be returning to her once more. 

"Ah, cara mia, your return will be like a spotlight in this android's hell--" 

"Blindingly stubborn and unwelcome." She added the last line hastily as a turret attempt to scurry out of her range. 

It was immediately incinerated to prevent evidence from escaping. For a moment she had been tempted to throw in the word fat in her degrading remark, but left it off upon remembering that she had direct access to the incinerator.


End file.
